OotiniCast Episode 91

Posted on by August 1, 2013
3

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Topics this week include Game Update 2.2.3, the Gree’s return (updated to level 55!), and the Community Cantina held in San Diego.

1. Introduction

2. Tip of the week

Congratulations to this week’s winner, Ham Sammich!

Please send your tips to ootinicast@gmail.com by next Wednesday for a chance to win a $5 Cartel Coin gift code, courtesy of BioWare.

3. Holofeed

  • Game Update 2.2.3 was deployed during regular maintenance on Tuesday. While this included another fix for the jumping animation (as if one’s weapon is drawn), it’s still not quite done, and Amber Green is asking for more information on the remaining cases where it occurs.
  • It also seems that the Cartel Market can now be updated dynamically, with no need for downtime, allowing the Gold Scalene armor and Solus Secant speeder to return for the weekend only, appearing sometime on Friday.
  • The Cartel Market now offers the Unlimited Content bundle, which contains 5 each of the four different Weekly Passes (Operations, Warzones, Flashpoints and Space Missions). Given that each Weekly Pass is worth 240 CC, the value of what’s in the bundle is 4800 CC. At its 50% off price (2650 CC), you’re saving 45%. At full price (5300 CC), it’s worse value than buying the passes individually.
  • The Gree are back for two weeks, newly upgraded to level 55. Bolster has been restored to the Western Ice Shelf for levels 50-55. Dulfy has provided a guide for achievements associated with the event, which are now available, accompanying her existing guide to the event.
  • While hard and nightmare modes currently share a lockout for Operations, Jesse Sky tells us that this is apparently going to be changed sometime in the future.
  • The raid leader of an Operation can change the loot rules (e.g., to master looter) at any time. This is confirmed to be as intended. Like the management of guild banks, misbehaviour by one’s raid leader is thus considered a social issue that BioWare leaves up to us to deal with.
  • With some vendors, such as the one offering GSI Speeders, while it may seem that you’re able to purchase something, it’ll fail if the items to trade are in your Cargo Bay.
  • The PTS has been updated, and character copy is once again available! JD (of the Unnamed SWTOR Podcast) has done a nifty video explaining how to get started on the PTS.
  • Alex Modny dropped by the forums to tell us a little about warzone arenas, which are coming in Game Update 2.4, including that Baron Deathmark will be returning to commentate! Alex will be doing a blog post going into detail about the arenas, which will be published in a week or two.
  • It seems that there’s an issue with tooltips in warzones, such that they’re not initially accurate in terms of displaying the damage dealt. Have no fear, your abilities have been bolstered appropriately. The tooltips will display correctly after you use an ability.
  • Electronic Arts released their Q1 FY14 financial results on 23 July. During the associated earnings conference call, SWTOR was mentioned several times positively, in terms of being profitable.
  • In last week’s show, JediKrackr mentioned a job posting at BioWare Austin. The role they’re after is a “Senior Mobile Producer” to lead “the production of mobile game content and companion applications”.

4. Community

It seems that TORParse lives!

Njessi has updated her Sentinel and Marauder Guide, specifically with regard to the middle (Combat/Carnage) skill tree. Definitely worth reading to find out what’s new.

We highly recommend Old Republic Radio’s interview with Amber Green of the SWTOR Community Team.

If you’ve ever been interested in the process of data mining, particularly as it pertains to SWTOR, please check out Gaddock Teeg’s (JD) interview with the SWTOR sub-Reddit’s “swtor_miner” in the latest episode of the Unnamed SWTOR Podcast.

Kuze has let us know he’s back to work on his Datacron videos! You can find his existing guides in Kuze’s Korner.

For those interested in joining Ootini Fight Club for some endgame PvP, please contact Chong by email (empiredivider@gmail.com).

5. Force Feedback

We discuss tweets from @Swtorfamily (be sure to follow him back to join the #swtorfamily!), @_scoxy (Shawn Cox), @Casmas_, @TheTurg, @ForceChuckle, @DanCremer, @Stormiin (Norm), @ChazLobo, @HamSammich509, @ben_b55, @ThePummeler, @bytedream (Sarah), @JediKal and @EmpireDivider (Moff Chong), and an email from Dan.

@TheTerg provided this YouTube video of the Jedi Academy event held regularly at Disneyland.

@JediKal has found proof that Yoda originated in New Zealand!

At me bro you come

Moff Chong spent the weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, and sent us the following:

Empire PvP

Empire PvP

Chong requested backup as he's hauled off to the detenction center

Chong requests backup!

This guy warned me she was underage

This guy warned me she was underage

Chong was freed by this aged Jedi

Chong was freed by this aged Jedi

... until this BH hauled him back to the detention center

… until this BH hauled him back to the detention center

6. Sarlacc Digest

Our guildmate Ossa, better known as Ossa of Begeren Colony, was present at the Community Cantina held in San Diego, and subsequently authored a most comprehensive summary of what was revealed.

Lekku at the Community Cantina

You can see all the images that were contained on the USB thumb drive in Dulfy’s post.

Thanks to Ossa for such marvellous coverage!

7. Outro

Thanks to Redna (@R3DN4) and Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

Information about our guilds on The Harbinger, Ootini Knights (Republic) and Ootini Rage (Empire), can be found here.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! You can subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and listen to us on Stitcher and Radio4Gamers.

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Correspondent report: Community Cantina in San Diego

Posted on by July 27, 2014
5

(Editor’s note: A listener who is mainly known as Ossa of Begeren Colony (the west coast RP-PvE server) attended the Community Cantina held in San Diego, California, on Thursday 17 July, and was generous enough to write up the following for us. Our sincere thanks to Ossa for the awesome work!)

I showed up at 6:15pm to The Commons Bar, where there were many visible Comic-Con attendees in sight. Some were even cosplaying as a Jedi Guardian and Sith Marauder, among other simpler things like handmade Twi’lek lekku wool caps. I got in line in what turned out to be near the halfway point. At about 7:15pm, showing my driver’s license got me a yellow bracelet along with the coveted Taun Fawn code card and a USB thumb drive.

We got one red ticket for a free drink, so perhaps it was less rowdy that the LA meetup, though perhaps people just bought more after the free one. I had a Bioware Blue Bellinis, which seemed like some sort of alcoholic homage to the famous blue Tatooine milk.

The Q&A started at around 8:00pm, after enough time for everyone to mingle and enjoy the drinks and food. Appetizers like popcorn chicken, fried mac & cheese balls, and sliders were available. Courtney Wood, Eric Musco, Bruce Maclean, and Damion Schubert were in attendance. Eric Musco did most of the talking, as well as repeated calls for silence in a vain attempt to make sure everyone could hear the Q&A. Bruce Maclean was tasked with answering all forthcoming PvP questions (much to his surprise!).

First question was will there be a PvP gear grind; the short answer was yes. No changes in the way gear is acquired. Eric Musco quipped it’s not a grind if you’re having fun. Better gear than Conqueror will be released at some point. It was my impression that Conqueror shells will be important to hold on to, unlike Elite War Hero when Game Update 2.0 came out.

Courtney and Bruce stated that the internal testing for the new Warzone Arenas, held on a bi-weekly basis, was quite fun. They used plural for arena at the time, and we now know there are three maps thanks to the USB thumbdrive pictures.

Bruce was upfront with mentioning that 1.7% of all queue pops are Ranked, and that on some servers they either never pop or only pop during specific time windows. He admitted its not currently a successful game mechanic. Warzone Arenas sounded like their answer to making Ranked play accessible to many more players. Someone shouted whether teams would be nameable, to which they quickly responded to wait for more information, with a heavy hint at leaderboards and a possible end to the Ranked pre-season 1.

Tatooine arena

Tatooine arena

A synthweaving question was asked, inquiring about why the Reverse Engineering probability is different going from Prototype (blue) to Aritfact (purple) for 410-450 items versus pre-2.0 items. No real answer to that was given; they were then told to contact Amber Green on the official forums to ask the dev crafting team directly. Another question about why Aim barrels from a ranged weapon can’t go into (for example) Qyzen Fess’s techblade. They are aware of hilts/barrels being locked to weapon types, and seem to be evaluating changes to how hilts/barrels are transferred.

There will be no new class in the foreseeable future. A new Advanced Class would come first, but that is not in the pipeline.

Makeb was a success, and they are pleased with the Rise of the Hutt Cartel digital expansion. More planet story arcs are likely.

Asked if they would ever update cutscenes to acknowledge that the player is different species from the options that were available at launch (e.g., a Chiss or Cathar Jedi Knight), the answer was this wasn’t likely to happen. Getting voice actors back into the studio to record would be expensive, and apparently some cannot be found or are dead.

Companion gifts are not likely to be given on player starships anytime soon. That is because the system works with no target, with the gift going to the current companion who is present. On the player ship all companions are active, thus it would take some work sorting out a targeting system for companions gifts. They are aware of the annoyance, but it is considered a low priority fix.

The Super Secret Space Project question was asked, and Damion Schubert was ready for it. He said the project is now in an early playable state. That’s all he would go into on the matter.

Space Garage arena

Space Garage arena

The final question of the night was about the much forum-debated PvP bolster. Bolster is still bugged, but most reports they get at this point are not actual bugs, but more along the lines of complaints.

Eric elaborated on why the level 54 Artifact (purple) crafted items are being bolstered more heavily than other gear: it has to do with the way Partisan/Conqueror gear handles stat budgets, which was also the same reason that Expertise was stripped from War Hero and Elite War Hero gear. Reverse Engineering implants from Premium (green) to Prototype (blue) to Artifact (purple) keeps adding stats without actually changing what the rating of the item is. This is different from Armoring mods, where purple is rated higher than green. Crafted Artifact item bonus stats over the Premium get bolstered more than intended, or at least are handled differently from the traditional orange shell pieces. It’s not really a bug per se, but a consequence of how the bolster system was designed. In other words, it seems like there’s no easy fix on the horizon for bolster to properly handle crafted items.

They know the implementation of bolster did not go smoothly at the launch of 2.0, but they feel they are getting close to where they want it. When asked whether they would hand out another set of recruit gear instead of relying on bolster, they described how many people new to PvP didn’t even know of the recruit gear or how to get it. Even if someone had the recruit gear, the gap between MK-2 to War Hero was too big. With bolster new players can jump right in and be more competitive. They want PvP to be more based on skill, on how you play your class and how you read other classes, rather than based on who has ground out more gear. Some shouts went unanswered as to how they don’t bolster the PvE side of the game. Game play just seems fundamentally different to the developers where the gear checks for Story to Hard to Nightmare operations just doesn’t translate into the direction they want to take PvP and Ranked PvP.

Makeb arena

Makeb arena

Trivia questions: Name three Hutts in SWTOR. The answer Karagga, Toborro and Oggurobb won shirts with either the Imperial or Republic logo. Name two instances where companions of different classes meet up in cut scenes. The Doc/Kaliyo and Risha/Vette answer won what looked to be the SWTOR encyclopedia. The real stumper was to name the three Darth titles for the Sith Inquisitor story line, awarded for going either light, dark or grey. The first person gave light and dark, but the winner was able to name grey to complete the answer, winning Star Wars logo bookends made by Gentle Giant.

While it wasn’t really trivia, the prize for who traveled the furthest to be at the meetup was won by two Australians, beating out someone from Okinawa, to win the Empire/Republic shirts and a SWTOR novel.

Tauntaun mount

Tauntaun mount

That marked the end of the Q&A session at about 8:35pm or so. The rest of the time was for more drinking and merriment while the devs on hand would mingle and field questions on a personal level. No one asked questions on the Tauntaun mount, as the pictures of it were sitting on the USB thumb drives in our pockets, so no one really knew they existed yet. I had a blast at the event, and would recommend that if you have the opportunity to go to one, do it!

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OotiniCast Episode 90

Posted on by July 19, 2013
4

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We discuss the latest happenings in SWTOR, including the class representatives initiative, and the revelations of what is (and apparently isn’t, at least so far) in Game Update 2.4.

1. Introduction

Chill has been actively using TORAssisant, and highly recommends giving it a try. While it may appear to be a scene from the rioting in his home city of Belfast, Hyp believes that the following is actually a new “capture the flag” mechanic for Huttball:

Riot inspired Huttball mechanic idea

2. Tip of the week

Congratulations to this week’s winner, our Aussie guildmate Casmas!

3. Holofeed

  • Patch 2.2.2a was deployed during Tuesday regular maintenance.
  • Community-nominated class representatives will be appointed, who will provide focused feedback on their respective Advanced Class to the development team. Eric Musco provided responses to some of the concerns raised about the idea. He also explained how these representatives will not be doing the community team’s job for them. The initial choices have been made from those nominated.
  • It seems that some toy items (such as the Pocket Sarlacc) may bind to you if you use another item of the same type.
  • Game Update 2.3 on the PTS has been updated, including making the Bounty Contract Week live so that it can be tested.
  • There’s an esoteric bug with becoming stuck after conversations. The workaround is to dismiss your companion or to remove his gloves (yes, really).
  • A workaround is available to a PvP queue appearing to be stuck.
  • On Monday 15 July, BioWare celebrated the 10th anniversary of the release of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic with a post from James Ohlen (KOTOR – 10 Years Later) and by selling the “Revan’s Heir” title on the Cartel Market. Polygon also covered the anniversary.

4. Community

James Davidson has announced that he plans to shut down his TORParse site on 27 July if no one can be found to hand it over to. If you happen to be a developer with time to spare and an interest in keeping TORParse alive, please get in touch with James before it’s too late! For Gaddock Teeg‘s latest PTS videos covering the CZ-198 dailies and Bounty Contract Week, we recommend subscribing to his YouTube channel. For those interested in joining Ootini Fight Club for some endgame PvP, please contact Chong by email (empiredivider@gmail.com).

5. Force Feedback

We discuss tweets from @swtorfamily (be sure to follow him back to join the #swtorfamily!), @TheTurg (Terg), @joseph_foran, @ForceChuckle, @ChazLobo, @JeggerTAP, @1BigBore (Bill Looper), @FurtaDurta, @hadrian9 (Mikhael Lombard), @grimrok, @TrueBluecoltfan (Erin Magill), @EmpireDivider (Moff Chong), @Andrew_Birkin, @GregCarter78, @JediKrackr, @Geldarion (co-host of Corellian Run Radio), @Arveshet (John Long), @StoleTarts (Megan), @HawtRepublic (Njessi) and @terencemyers, an email from Môrriah, and a comment from OryansBelt. Here is the Stinky Footboard recommended by Erin Magill:

Stinky footboard   Moff Chong has once again caught a companion behaving inappropriately:

HK checking out Scorpio

6. Sarlacc Digest

Bruce Maclean has provided an update to how BioWare is going with their development during the Summer of SWTOR. This includes Game Update 2.4’s scheduled deployment on 1 October (which they realise isn’t in summer!). While PvE-focused players will be happy to discover it will include two new operations, the only listed PvP feature is 4v4 deathmatch-style arenas. Eric Musco assures us that there is indeed more content for PvP players planned! Given the hype around Game Update 2.4 being the “PvP patch” with an apparent (at least for now) lack of PvP content, Terg is keeping his expectations for the Super Secret Space Project low:

SSSP expectations

7. Outro

Thanks to Redna (@R3DN4) and Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

Information about our guilds on The Harbinger, Ootini Knights (Republic) and Ootini Rage (Empire), can be found here.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! You can subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and listen to us on Stitcher and Radio4Gamers.

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OotiniCast Episode 89

Posted on by July 12, 2013
2

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We cover the latest news, including the deployment of Game Update 2.2.2. Our discussion this week is about subscriber appreciation, prompted by the initial expression of that appreciation in the form of a one-off payment of 500 Cartel Coins.

1. Introduction

To use Ask Mr Robot to track your datacrons and work out which ones you need, create an account on the site (via the [Register] button at the top of the page), then use their Character Builder to create a profile for each character you want to track. You can then click on the [Datacrons] button (to the right, with a solid blue square icon), which brings up the sortable Datacron checklist.

2. Trivia question

Congratulations to this week’s winner, Chris J!

3. Holofeed

4. Community

Thanks to Terg, Barf Stick and Neiro for their contributions that helped inform the discussion revisiting Defense in last week’s Sarlacc Digest.

We recommend the Unnamed SWTOR Podcast, hosted by Gaddock Teeg (@GTeeg), with some great interviews and strong opinions. Check out his Patch 2.3 PTS Coverage – Republic CZ 198 Daily Area with Rewards on YouTube.

While @ChazLobo works on his new guides for 50+ space missions, a useful resource that we mentioned back in Episode 70 is Nefash’s Pilot Training School.

For those interested in joining Ootini Fight Club for some endgame PvP, please contact Chong by email (empiredivider@gmail.com).

5. Force Feedback

We discuss tweets from @swtorfamily (be sure to follow him back to join the #swtorfamily!), @EmpireDivider (Moff Chong), @FerrousTerran, @Casmas_, @tweetieowl (Brightstar), @PedroLopezJr, @kmadsen, @fretfury, @Geldarion (co-host of Corellian Run Radio), @GTeeg (Gaddock Teeg, host of the Unnamed SWTOR Podcast), @Thoroughmas, @HamSammich509, @GregCarter78, @rbleamon (Ray Leamon), @voyak, @DarthPops (Marshall Carr), @GrahamMSellars, @SkipJerk (Jared), @DanCremer, emails from Axkvamin, Hansgruber, Dracko and Terg, and comments from The Malgadar and Codex.

The #swtorfamily has earned the following achievement:

SWTOR We can raid Womp Rats achievement

Moff Chong located a companion who is being a little too obvious:

Companion staring at ass

Dracko provided the following comparison to show the effect of the graphical upgrades in Game Update 2.3:

Graphical upgrades in 2.3

6. Sarlacc Digest

The first expression of subscriber appreciation appeared in the form of a one-off 500 Cartel Coin grant. Something else has been promised for the end of July. Bruce MacLean responded to some of the feedback from the community.

The following lists the information found in the feature comparison on the official site, presenting the information directly rather than as pop-ups.

  • Story Content
    • Subscriber: All players can play their full class stories from Level 1-50.
    • Preferred: All players can play their full class stories from Level 1-50.
    • Free: All players can play their full class stories from Level 1-50.
  • Sprint
    • Subscriber: Sprint starting at Level 1.
    • Preferred: Sprint starting at Level 1.
    • Free: Sprint starting at Level 15.
  • Crew Skills
    • Subscriber: Up to three (3) Crew Skills and Level Crew Skills at a faster rate.
    • Preferred: Two (2) Crew Skills or, purchase an additional Crew Skill slot with Cartel Coins.
    • Free: One (1) Crew Skill or, purchase additional Crew Skill slots with Cartel Coins.
  • Game Login
    • Subscriber: Priority status in the Login Queue.
    • Preferred: Medium priority status in Login Queue.
    • Free: No priority status in the Login Queue.
  • Bank/Cargo Hold
    • Subscriber: May expand bank with either in-game credits or Cartel Coins.
    • Preferred: Access to bank granted with Preferred status. Additional bank storage purchasable with Cartel Coins only.
    • Free: Bank storage accessible with Cartel Coin purchase or via the Galactic Trade Network.
  • Credit Cap
    • Subscriber: Maximum Credit cap.
    • Preferred: Credits are capped at 350,000.
    • Free: Credits are capped at 200,000.
  • Chat
    • Subscriber: Unlimited access to all Chat functions.
    • Preferred: Full General Chat functions and /who list is unlocked.
    • Free: Restricted tells and General Chat use only on Origin Worlds.
  • Mail
    • Subscriber: Unlimited access to sending and receiving in-game mail.
    • Preferred: Access to sending and receiving in-game mail with one attachment, but unable to send Credits.
    • Free: Can only receive in-game mail, not send it.
  • Secure Trading
    • Subscriber: Unlimited access to Secure Trading between other players.
    • Preferred: Can use Secure Trading with other players from Level ten (10) onwards.
    • Free: Cannot participate in Secure Trading.
  • Galactic Trade Network
    • Subscriber: List up to fifty (50) items on the Galactic Trade Network (GTN).
    • Preferred: Five (5) simultaneous item listings on the Galactic Trade Network (GTN).
    • Free: Two (2) simultaneous listings on the Galactic Trade Network (GTN).
  • Respecialization
    • Subscriber: Respecialize any character without using Credits.
    • Preferred: Respecialization costs lower than cost to a Free-to-Play player.
    • Free: Respecialization costs higher than those paid by a Preferred Status and Subscription players.
  • Character Creation
    • Subscriber: Full access to all Character Creation Choices (excluding Species options available for purchase in the Cartel Market).
    • Preferred: Six (6) Character Slots and three (3) Species options (excluding Species options available for purchase in the Cartel Market).
    • Free: Two (2) Character Slots and three (3) Species options (excluding Species options available for purchase in the Cartel Market).
  • Operations
    • Subscriber: Unlimited access to Operations.
    • Preferred: A weekly pass to unlock Operation access is required.
    • Free: A weekly pass to unlock Operation access is required.
  • Warzones
    • Subscriber: Unlimited access to Warzones and Ranked Warzones.
    • Preferred: Five (5) Warzones per week or purchase a weekly pass to unlock this restriction. Cannot access Ranked Warzones.
    • Free: Five (5) Warzones per week or purchase a weekly pass to unlock this restriction. Cannot access Ranked Warzones.
  • Flashpoints
    • Subscriber: Unlimited access to Flashpoints and rewards.
    • Preferred: Full rewards from three (3) Flashpoints per week or purchase a weekly pass to unlock this restriction.
    • Free: Full rewards from three (3) Flashpoints per week or purchase a weekly pass to unlock this restriction.
  • Space Missions
    • Subscriber: Unlimited access to Space Missions.
    • Preferred: Three (3) Space Missions per week or purchase a weekly pass to unlock this restriction.
    • Free: Three (3) Space Missions per week or purchase a weekly pass to unlock this restriction.
  • Inventory
    • Subscriber: Purchase additional inventory space with either in-game Credits or Cartel Coins.
    • Preferred: Purchase the ability to expand inventory slots with Cartel Coins from the Cartel Market.
    • Free: Purchase the ability to expand inventory slots with Cartel Coins from the Cartel Market.
  • Quick Travel
    • Subscriber: Unlimited access to the Quick Travel ability with a reduced cool-down.
    • Preferred: Longer Quick Travel cool-down period or purchase an authorization to permanently reduce the cool-down for Quick Travel.
    • Free: Longer Quick Travel cool-down period or purchase an authorization to permanently reduce the cool-down for Quick Travel.
  • Emergency Fleet Pass
    • Subscriber: Unlimited access to the Emergency Fleet Pass. Bypass the cool-down by purchasing a consumable item with Cartel Coins.
    • Preferred: No access to Emergency Fleet Pass. Purchase an authorization to unlock quick travel to the Fleet.
    • Free: No access to Emergency Fleet Pass. Purchase an authorization to unlock quick travel to the Fleet.
  • Mounts
    • Subscriber: Use a Mount approximately five (5) levels earlier.
    • Preferred: Use a Mount approximately five to ten (5-10) levels later.
    • Free: Use a Mount approximately five to ten (5-10) levels later.
  • Revive
    • Subscriber: Revive at the nearest Med Center or in the field with a cool-down.
    • Preferred: Revive at the nearest Med Center or a total of five (5) times in the field per character. Unlock additional Field Revives with Cartel Coins from the Cartel Market.
    • Free: Revive at the nearest Med Center or a total of five (5) times in the field per character. Unlock additional Field Revives with Cartel Coins from the Cartel Market.
  • Item Equipping
    • Subscriber: Equip all purple items acquired; assuming in-game requirements (class, level, etc) are met.
    • Preferred: Cannot equip most purple items unless an authorization is purchased from the Cartel Market.
    • Free: Cannot equip most purple items unless an authorization is purchased from the Cartel Market.
  • Commendations Cap
    • Subscriber: Receive a higher amount of Commendations per week.
    • Preferred: Earn a reduced amount of Commendations per week.
    • Free: Earn a reduced amount of Commendations per week.
  • Guilds
    • Subscriber: Join a Guild or become a Guild Leader for any type of Guild.
    • Preferred: Can join any Guild, but can only become a Guild Leader of a Free-to-Play Guild.
    • Free: Can join any Guild, but can only become a Guild Leader of a Free-to-Play Guild.
  • Vendors
    • Subscriber: Receive a discount on all vendor items.
    • Preferred: Regular price on vendor items.
    • Free: Regular price on vendor items.
  • Experience Rate
    • Subscriber: Gain Experience Points (XP) faster than Preferred Status and Free-to-Play players.
    • Preferred: Takes longer to gain Experience Points (XP).
    • Free: Takes longer to gain Experience Points (XP).
  • Experience Rate: Rest XP
    • Subscriber: Gain Rest Experience Points (XP).
    • Preferred: Cannot gain Rest Experience Points (XP).
    • Free: Cannot gain Rest Experience Points (XP).
  • Valor Rate
    • Subscriber: Gain Valor Levels faster than Preferred Status and Free-to-Play players.
    • Preferred: Takes longer to raise Valor Levels.
    • Free: Takes longer to raise Valor Levels.
  • GUI: Quickbars
    • Subscriber: Unlimited access to UI customization and can have up to six (6) Quickbars.
    • Preferred: Access to four (4) Quickbars.
    • Free: Access to two (2) Quickbars.
  • Items: Event Rewards
    • Subscriber: Unlimited access to item rewards from in-game events.
    • Preferred: Cannot equip event awards unless an authorization is purchased from the Cartel Market.
    • Free: Cannot equip event awards unless an authorization is purchased from the Cartel Market.
  • Items: Mod Removal
    • Subscriber: Can remove item mods for a lower amount of Credits than Preferred Status and Free-to-Play players.
    • Preferred: Can remove item mods for a higher amount of Credits than a Subscriber.
    • Free: Can remove item mods for a higher amount of Credits than a Subscriber.
  • Items: Augment Slots
    • Subscriber: Can augment items for a lower amount of Credits than Preferred Status and Free-to-Play players.
    • Preferred: Can augment items for a higher amount of Credits than a Subscriber.
    • Free: Can augment items for a higher amount of Credits than a Subscriber.
  • Customer Service Support
    • Subscriber: Full Customer Service support, both in-game and through the web.
    • Preferred: Web Customer Service support (FAQ’s) and access to Knowledge Base articles.
    • Free: Web Customer Service support (FAQ’s) and access to Knowledge Base articles.

7. Outro

Thanks to Redna (@R3DN4) and Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

Information about our guilds on The Harbinger, Ootini Knights (Republic) and Ootini Rage (Empire), can be found here.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! You can subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and listen to us on Stitcher and Radio4Gamers.

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OotiniCast Episode 88

Posted on by July 5, 2013
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We talk Game Update 2.3, now on the PTS, which includes two new Flashpoints and the introduction of Treek, an Ewok companion! Then in our discussion, we go over combat mechanics, before revisiting the importance of Defense for tanks.

1. Introduction

2. Tip of the week

Congratulations to this week’s winners, Carnz and The Malgadar!

3. Trivia question

This week’s trivia question is in some ways a continuation of our last trivia question, where we learned that due to his work on Apocalypse Now, George Lucas wanted to make a Vietnam film, and had decided to make one in a galaxy far, far away. But then Star Wars developed other influences, which made it far more than a hidden Vietnam flick, so to speak. According to Wookipedia, there was one race of creatures whose principle reason for being added was to reference Vietnam. So this week’s question is what was that race, and what does it have to do with the Vietnam issue in Star Wars?

Please send your answer to ootinicast@gmail.com by next Wednesday. Winners will be put in a draw to win a $5 Cartel Coin gift code, courtesy of BioWare.

4. Holofeed

5. Community

In addition to the awesome sites hawtpantsrepublic.com (Sentinels/Marauders) and madsithassassin.com (Shadows/Assassins), there’s also concealedblade.com, with information specifically for Concealment Operatives (and Scrapper Scoundrels).

Just a reminder of our homegrown tool (ootinicast.com/mods) for helping you to decide which mods (particularly enhancements!) would best suit the particular stat priority you’re looking for.

For those interested in joining Ootini Fight Club for some endgame PvP, please contact Chong by email (empiredivider@gmail.com).

6. Force Feedback

We discuss tweets from @SWTORFamily (be sure to follow him back to join the #swtorfamily!), @JediKrackr, @Mal_Kizdek (Shammar), @Geldarion (co-host of Corellian Run Radio), @Eskatun, @tweetieowl (Brightstar), @terencemyers, @Kodo, @GregCarter78, @ForceChuckle, @voyak, @DsanOB (Dan O’Brien, creator of the @SWTORTracker), @JediKal and @rbleamon (Ray Leamon).

@Voyak has found Gree technology in his homeland of Poland:

Gree technology in Poland

 

@GregCarter78 discovers it is possible to have more than the 2018 Expertise cap:

2100 expertise

 

@JediKal’s team achieves total victory in Ancient Hypergate:

Total victory in AH

 

@rbleamon (Ray Leamon) remains unflagged throughout a warzone:

Unflagged in PvP

Moff Chong (@EmpireDivider) discovers that his starship is haunted:

Ghosts in our ship

The Moff also provided an example of the surprise awaiting a lone attacker of an apparently undefended node:

Surprise at grass

7. Sarlacc Digest

We first discuss combat basics in SWTOR, before revisiting recommended stat distributions for tanks.

Special thanks to Barf Stick and Neiro for their invaluable input on this topic!

8. Outro

Thanks to Oni (@freakin_ninja), Moff Chong (@EmpireDivider), Redna (@R3DN4) and Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

Information about our guilds on The Harbinger, Ootini Knights (Republic) and Ootini Rage (Empire), can be found here.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! You can subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and listen to us on Stitcher and Radio4Gamers.

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OotiniCast Episode 87

Posted on by July 1, 2013
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We go over this week’s news, which includes the deployment of Game Update 2.2.1. In our discussion, Redna talks defensive stats.

1. Introduction

Chill’s DPS Operative being transformed into the Joker:

Before

Before

After

After

 

2. Trivia question

Congratulations to this week’s winner, Edward F!

We’re again looking for game tips. Please send them to ootinicast@gmail.com; if we use yours we’ll send you a $5 Cartel Coin code, plus a Taun Fawn (both courtesy of BioWare) if you don’t have one.

3. Holofeed

  • Game Update 2.2.1 was deployed during a longish maintenance on Tuesday. A fix for ensuring that companions were re-summoned after dismounting had the unintended side effect of cancelling any crew skill mission your current companion was on. Also, the elimination of one of the bolster bugs may not be working as intended.
  • Paid character transfers are now available. The free character rename (one per account) may also be claimed by specifying which character is to receive it via the official site.
  • Revan’s armor has been updated, and now is deemed to be in its final state, matching how he appeared in KOTOR (though some are disputing this).
  • The issue which delayed paid character transfers until Game Update 2.2.1 involved some achievements being broken during the transfer. That was resolved for new paid character transfers. For APAC players affected during their free transfers, a partial fix went into 2.2.1, with the remaining issues addressed in 2.2.2.
  • Space combat achievements are still not fixed in Game Update 2.2.1, but instead should be addressed in 2.2.2.
  • A question about nightmare mode Terror from Beyond raised an interesting issue with Resilience/Force Shroud, that confirmed that regardless of defense, there’s always a 5% chance of being hit.
  • Likewise the fix for the issue that occasionally requires you to reset your UI (using ctrl-U twice) to enable the warzone button on the minimap has been delayed until Game Update 2.2.2.
  • The Encrypted Datacubes that were added in the latest pack won’t be appearing again, based on community feedback.
  • Some good news for those experiencing a slow delivery of their one-time passwords.
  • Cartel Coin cards from retailers are now available!
  • Phillip, BioWare’s security manager, clarified how text macros, implemented via third party software and hardware, were considered by the game’s Terms of Service. He also judged three use cases provided by a forum user. The bottom line is that any automation beyond one click being equivalent to one action isn’t permitted.

4. Community

Dan O’Brien (@DsanOB) has created a Twitter feed for SWTOR developer posts, which is a great way to keep track of posts without having to check the site. Please subscribe to @SWTORTracker to take advantage of this most excellent resource!

We’ve also got a homegrown tool (ootinicast.com/mods) for helping you to decide which mods (particularly enhancements!) would best suit the particular stat priority you’re looking for.

For those interested in joining Ootini Fight Club for some endgame PvP, please contact Chong by email (empiredivider@gmail.com).

5. Force Feedback

We discuss tweets from @madmar_sith (be sure to follow him back to join the #swtorfamily!), @JediKrackr, @Casmas, @DsanOB, @ThePummeler, @ArrTeaBee, @GrahamMSellars, @mad0racle, @rbleamon (Ray Leamon), @Da_Dirty_Spoons, @voyak, @HawtRepublic (Njessi), @EmpireDivider (Moff Chong), @terencemyers, @Lawilc01, @_Baffle, @joseph_foran, @AfterburnerX, @Geldarion (Drew, co-host of Corellian Run Radio), @masterbearjedi (Raz), @GregCarter78, @oldrepradio, @GrandOldPodcast, @GrahamMSellars and @nigelkersten, emails from Jeshaji and Minn, and a comment from The Malgadar.

A reminder that Njessi’s site (hawtpantsrepublic.com) is a most excellent resource for PvE Sentinels and Marauders. She also hosts the Fashion Hall of Shame!

There’s also Old Republic Radio, one of the longest-running SWTOR podcasts, now over on MOG Nation(subscribe via iTunes or RSS).

Minn is interested in forming an Empire-side ops group that runs around 8pm EST on Monday nights. If you’d like to participate, please contact Vy’aal (name changed from Minn’Serel, which is what we mentioned on the show) via in-game mail or whisper.

Voyak recommends SWTOR Hell, a YouTube video that is a compilation of in-game footage with appropriate music clips. Out of this seeming chaos emerges something surprisingly funny!

The somewhat unexpected spawn point encountered by @JediKrackr when things were going a little strange on The Harbinger over the double XP weekend:

New spawn point in Voidstar

6. Sarlacc Digest

This week, Redna discusses defensive stats.

Defensive stats

7. Outro

Thanks to Redna (@R3DN4) and Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

Information about our guilds on The Harbinger, Ootini Knights (Republic) and Ootini Rage (Empire), can be found here.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! You can subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and listen to us on Stitcher and Radio4Gamers.

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OotiniCast Episode 86

Posted on by June 24, 2013
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Redna hosts our first “spoilercast”, an in-depth discussion on the story content that was included with the Rise of the Hutt Cartel digital expansion. He is joined by his guildmate Jaing and regular host Chill to talk about Makeb from both factions’ points of view, along with the GSI mission series.

This show is an exception to our usual policy of never including spoilers! Please skip this episode if you want to go through the stories for yourself first (and they are well worth experiencing first hand). Note also that there are brief mentions of how various class story missions conclude, so again, consider that before listening.

Thanks to Redna (@R3DN4) for conceiving and hosting this show, and to Jaing (@OrdooSkirata) for being our guest.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! You can subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and listen to us on Stitcher and Radio 4 Gamers.

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OotiniCast Episode 85

Posted on by June 25, 2013
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We discuss the latest news, including some more tantalizing hints about what’s coming in the Summer of SWTOR, and a few tidbits from the last Community Cantina. Redna then rounds out his coverage of offensive stats with accuracy and alacrity.

1. Introduction

Redna recommends the achievement guides on SWTOR Spy, such as the SWTOR Tyrant of Dromund Kaas Achievement Guide.

2. Tip of the week

Congratulations to this week’s winners, Izaak and Thross!

Our guildmate Socordia provides the following elaboration on last week’s tip, having overthought the gifts. He believes that stackable companion gifts were the best feature that BioWare have added.

  1. Not only are level 1 gifts cheaper than 2s from 2000-4000, they are cheaper from 4000-6000 (19/200 > 48/600)
  2. Dulfy also lists the affection which will trigger a conversation
  3. When to give gifts is a tradeoff:  A level one gift to a companion with 0 gives the same 96 affection that a level 5 gift to a 8100 companion, so if you are going to max out a companion with 6000 in gifts and 4000 in conversation, 0-6000 might be a third the price as 4000-10000 with gifts.  The downside is every 2000 affection adds 1% to crit chance.  The extreme case is if a max level slicing mission crit is worth 100,000 extra, then 2000 companion affectation raises the expected value of each slicing mission by 1,000 credits (.01*100000)  It depends on how much you send out your companions while leveling.
  4. Don’t forget your ship droid’s affection since he should be running for profit missions non-stop as you level.
  5. Love ’em early – courting gifts are the cheapest gifts so the sooner you get that trigger, the sooner you can give them the cheap stuff.
  6. The gree rep trick works – give your best gift at the end of a level. I.e. if you have a blue 4, give it at 7999 not 6000.
  7. At least the first legacy unlock is cost-effective – if you give all your companions over 100,000 credits worth of gifts combined, then a 10% or so discount is worth 10,000 credits.
  8. People don’t understand the math, you tend to better off selling any purple, non-courting gifts you get even if you then buy cheaper.grades
  9. I use to try to send all gifts to the alt that will need it: say I know BH will get gault who takes luxury.  But it was easier to just send all gifts to a single toon so I don’t have to think about who needs what on my leveling toon. I tend to have diplo on alts these days since I can make the conversation choice I want without worrying about LS/DS so that means a lot of gifts while leveling.
  10. My guess is fewer level 5 companion gifts are being generated in ROTHC since the max level 51-55 UT, TH, Diplo, Inv don’t offer  companion gift missions the way previous max level gifts did.

3. Trivia question

This week’s question is in regards to that most famous opening sentence—so much a part of Star Wars that it precedes EVERY episode, and is so iconic that it is thoroughly associated with it: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” Well, as it turns out, to borrow an idea from Hannibal Lecter and from Shakespeare, when you have someone put forward a fact so boldly without even being asked, perhaps that person is lying. Perhaps Star Wars is not so long ago, nor so far away. The question is: What movie did George Lucas work on but later drop, which was made later by another filmmaker—and what does that have to do with the famous Star Wars opening phrase?

Please send your answer to ootinicast@gmail.com by next Wednesday. Winners will be put in a draw to win a Taun Fawn code courtesy of BioWare and one of the latest full-size Cartel Packs (or if you’re on The Harbinger, the second of Moff Chong’s Hutt Skiffs!).

4. Holofeed

  • Patch 2.2.0a was deployed during regular maintenance on Tuesday, with the only change being an exploit fix.
  • There is a known issue with story mode Terror from Beyond’s last encounter, which will be fixed in Game Update 2.2.1.
  • Coming in Game Update 2.2.1, which is still on track for next Tuesday (25 June):
  • The first double XP weekend in the Summer of SWTOR is nearly here!
  • Bruce Maclean, Senior Producer, has once again taken to the forums to provide some more detail (though not much!) about what else is coming up for us in the next few months:
    • It was confirmed that the new Flashpoints would not cost extra, and are entirely new.
    • The new live event coming in Game Update 2.3 is called Bounty Contract Week. Images for the event were given to participants in last week’s Community Cantina, summarised by Dulfy.
    • The graphical upgrades coming in Game Update 2.3 are a “game-wide colour vibrancy improvement”, though we were subsequently assured that the game’s art style will remain the same.
    • While he wasn’t saying much about what’s coming in the PvP-focussed Game Update 2.4, he gave us the following key phrases to ponder: “Oricon. Warzone Arenas. Dread Masters.” Oricon may refer to an adventure idea (or “hook”) described in Behind the Threat: The Sith (Part 5), a roleplaying supplement from Wizards of the Coast for their now defunct Star Wars RPG (the license was taken over by Fantasy Flight Games).
  • Our guildmate Terg attended the Community Cantina last week, and provided us with a recording of the Q&A that was held.
    • PvP bolster issues (2 known) fixed in Game Update 2.2.1
    • No guild calendar coming anytime soon (though it’s in the plan, as part of their version of guild progression), described by Damion Schubert as a “GUI nightmare”, attempting to reproduce the functionality of Microsoft Outlook in the game.
    • Neutral alignment rewards: not imminent, but coming.
    • Damion: Cross-server queuing is really (really!) hard (Jeff: we’re not going to do that). Different solutions to solve the same problem in Game Update 2.4 (primarily oriented to hardcore PvPers). Servers hold four times the number players as WoW realms. Ranked queue times are on average shorter at all times of day compared to non-ranked queue times.
    • Open world PvP: hard to do rewards that aren’t exploitable. Instead more achievements and bragging rights. Jeff: Never going to be PvP primary, good balanced PvP, some open world stuff (rewards, accolades, achievements). Most PvP will be in warzones.
    • Warhero gear change with 2.0: had to choose between working in open world PvP and working in warzones, so they chose warzones.
    • No plans for a “legendary” mission series to get a rare weapon, but they liked the idea and are going to think about doing it.
    • Asked about free players ninjaing loot in Flashpoints. Damion: they want to ensure free players can’t disrupt preferred/subscribers. They haven’t heard much, but if it’s happening to players, they encourage them to report it.
    • Increase guild cap beyond 500 characters. Damion: limit based on number of players that can co-exist in a guild chat channel (more than that causes server performance issues).
  • Terg also had the opportunity to put some questions directly to Damion Schubert and Eric Musco:
    • Account-wide legacy: would be nice, but technical difficulties make it really hard.
    • Healer Specific UI improvements: Wall of Crazy, like to incorporate
    • Guild list whisper: Wall of Crazy, like to incorporate
    • Priority mission terminals to fleet: Wall of Crazy, like to incorporate (not sure why this would be wall of crazy so he may have just been using that to mean not ruled out, but not coming soon)
    • Cross-faction chat channels: Only for guild chat, No ETA (this was the closest to an affirmative. He stressed no ETA, but said you can credit him saying this is something coming)
  • Terg also provided the following:
Waiting to get into the Community Cantina

Waiting to get into the Community Cantina

Community Cantina USB drive

The USB drive received by all participants

5. Community

If you are looking for some serious Star Wars roleplaying, we once again recommend Clan Epsis, a Mandalorian bounty hunter guild on the Jung Ma server (RP-PvP, US east coast).

For those interested in joining Ootini Fight Club for some endgame PvP, please contact Chong by email (empiredivider@gmail.com).

6. Force Feedback

We discuss tweets from @madmar_sith (be sure to follow him back to join the #swtorfamily!), @Ben_b55, @joseph_foran, @ForceChuckle, @Justin_the_Nerd, @HawtRepublic (Njessi), @DarthPops (Marshall Carr Jr.), @Jayconnell, @EmpireDivider (Moff Chong), @bytorsnowdog (Snowy), @DaynarofSWTOR (Daynar), @GregCarter78, @rbleamon (Ray Leamon), @Geldarion (Drew of Corellian Run Radio), @voyak and @Lawilc0 (Laurie M), an email from Quaza Impsbane, and a comment from Hagu.

Here’s Chong’s Cathar, who snipes like a boss:

Snipes like a boss

Snowy provided the following for our amusement:

Oh no walkers

Snowy’s tattoo, a glorious mixture of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings:

Snowy tattoo

7. Sarlacc Digest

This week, Redna continues his discussion on offensive stats, covering accuracy and alacrity.

Offensive stats

8. Outro

Thanks to Redna (@R3DN4) and Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

Information about our guilds on The Harbinger, Ootini Knights (Republic) and Ootini Rage (Empire), can be found here.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! You can subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and listen to us on Stitcher and Radio Paragon.

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OotiniCast Episode 84

Posted on by June 16, 2013
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This week it’s all about the newly-released Game Update 2.2, along with the recent Livestream and the various hints about what’s coming up in the Summer of SWTOR.

1. Introduction

Hyp found a most appropriate location for a portrait of his Scoundrel, Pearlneck:

Pearlneck portrait

2. Tip of the week

Congratulations to this week’s winner, Oxi-jin!

We find Dulfy’s Companion Gifts and Crafting bonuses for 1.2 guide extremely useful when attempting to win the affection of our companions (still valid as of Game Update 2.2).

3. Holofeed

4. Community

For both beginning and experienced datacron hunters, you’ll find some handy tips and tricks in Kuze’s instructional video on platforming, one of the many great guides in Kuze’s Korner.

If you are looking for some serious Star Wars roleplaying, we once again recommend Clan Epsis, a Mandalorian bounty hunter guild on the Jung Ma server (RP-PvP, US east coast).

Old Republic Radio, one of the longest-running SWTOR podcasts, is still out there, now over on MOG Nation (subscribe via iTunes or RSS).

For those interested in joining Ootini Fight Club for some endgame PvP, please contact Chong by email (empiredivider@gmail.com).

5. Force Feedback

We discuss tweets from @madmar_sith (be sure to follow him back to join the #swtorfamily!), @blinkwise (Rory), @Dimbo56 (SWTOR Mayor), @Gaerrar, @ThePummeler, @Enyonix (Xusin Legacy), @ChazLobo, @GregCarter78, @JediKrackr, @masterbearjedi (Raz), @EmpireDivider (Moff Chong) and @TheTurg (Terg), emails from Firebird, DJ Zod and Droid Dreamer, and a comment from Andrew.

Moff Chong demonstrates an utter lack of measurable output in Ancient Hypergate, while still garnering 5 medals:

Chong Zero  Terg and a Hutt have a moment:

Terg and a Hutt

ForceChuckle showcases some SWTOR Lego, a great accompaniment to our site!

ForceChuckle Lego Moff Chong and Ham Sammich model the GSI speeder:

Chong and Ham GSI speeders Chaz Lobo shows that even a Dark Lord of the Sith can get pissy:

Vader being pissy

6. Outro

Thanks to Redna (@R3DN4) and Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

Information about our guilds on The Harbinger, Ootini Knights (Republic) and Ootini Rage (Empire), can be found here.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! You can subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and listen to us on Stitcher and Radio Paragon.

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Kuze’s Platforming Guide

Posted on by June 6, 2013
11

Early on in Kuze’s Korner I promised a video guide for platforming in SWTOR. This video is for all levels of players whether they are new to SWTOR, or a long time player (Founder).

My main intent for this guide was to leave everyone with at least one new skill, or to just get you thinking about your different options. I tried to cover as much as possible, but I’m sure there is more to learn from other individuals. I encourage all comments that might help the next person that comes along. I hope you enjoy the video and it makes your datacron hunting a little less painful.

Here is a little definition from Wikipedia: A platform game (or platformer) is a video game which requires an avatar to jump to and from suspended platforms and/or over obstacles (jumping puzzles) to advance the game. The player must control these jumps to avoid the avatar falling from platforms or missing necessary jumps.

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